


if he hadn't sat near the cliff by the sea

by jenobloom



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Inspired by Ponyo (2008), M/M, Ponyo AU, markhyuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-27 05:48:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17156384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jenobloom/pseuds/jenobloom
Summary: he knew, his life wouldn’t have been the same, if he hadn’t sat near the cliff by the sea and watched a bright coral haired creature emerge from the glossy ultramarine waters to stare him straight in his dark brown eyes.





	if he hadn't sat near the cliff by the sea

mark had always loved the beach. the sound of the waves crashing against the shiny metallic graphite rocks, the golden rays of sunshine reflecting his face off of the clear waters, or the way the sand felt between his toes. he felt alive. amidst the screaming kids and the big beer-bellied grown men, he found solace, and found peace. it was more than nostalgic attachment to him. nostalgia is a feeling that reminds you of the past, but, to mark, he never felt the need to move forward. he felt like he could do anything, achieve whatever he wanted, as long as he was in touch with his sandy playground. 

recalling the memory he first remembered in the deepest pits of his mind — he remembered to be building sandcastles with his pre school friends on a beach near his home at the time. they were drunk off giggles, fantasizing over the wonders they could build with just their hands and the sand in front of them. they would playfully splash water at each other, getting drenched in each other’s joy.

he also remembered accidentally swallowing some of that salty sea water once... and it was not a very good experience.

when mark’s parents moved around in an attempt to make themselves comfortable by living closer to their workplace (that changed often), he always found a beach nearby the home he was staying in to fall upon. it’s as if it followed him everywhere he went, like a piece of home and happiness he couldn’t ever imagine be separated from.

he knew, his life wouldn’t have been the same, without the memories of the cooled amber sunset going to sleep on a warm summer night, leaving a tint of azure blue in the sky, as it slowly turned darker and darker, till the sun entirely set.

he knew, his life wouldn’t have been the same, without the memories of a barbeque party on his 16th birthday, where he tried alcohol, behind his parents’ backs, for the first time. 

he knew, his life wouldn’t have been the same, if he hadn’t sat near the cliff by the sea and watched a bright coral haired creature emerge from the glossy ultramarine waters to stare him straight in his dark brown eyes.

mark rubbed his eyes.

confused.

he was confused.

‘what are you?’

he observed the creature - it had bright pink hair with eyes too big for its body, almost like a goldfish, and golden silky tanned skin. it’s cheeks were blushed, staring straight into mark’s eyes. it looked energetic, just like how a child would look on his birthday.

he tried to poke at the pink thing, and it flinched, giggling, staring at mark’s fingers, as if it had never seen a human body in his life.

and that’s when mark realised.. it? she? he? probably hasn’t. and he realised this is the part where he should be running the other direction, yelling, because oh my god, there’s a fish too big for its size, staring and laughing at him, and now the whole town is in danger, and he didn’t want to be the first one to be eaten alive,

but. this can’t be real. right? he repeated that thought in his head until he believed it. or he wanted to believe it. he realised that the more you say things you don’t want to do, the more your mind will automatically be convinced you want to do it. so he blinked his eyes. he blinked them again. six more times. rubbed them sore. and opened his eyes again.

the creature was still staring at him with it’s large googly glassy eyes.

mark managed to form a cohesive sentence and muttered, “uhm... can you... speak?”

“donghyuck! my name is donghyuck.” it chirped, high pitched, but in the most soothing way possible.

mark was glad to hear a reply.

“so... uhm... what are you?” mark could barely get his words out into proper form.

“i’m a water prince!”

“uhm... my name is mark,” mark replied, even more confused than before. “why are you here?”

“i’m kind of… just… running away. i want to explore and the ocean beds get boring after you go around it a few times.”

mark nodded, pretending to understand, glancing around to make sure nobody saw him talking to a water prince.

this all still felt so unreal to mark, and he was surprised at how much he wasn’t overthinking this. he tended to think too much, but for some reason, donghyuck’s face made him feel at ease.

mark felt a vibrating sensation from his phone, and took it out of his pockets. donghyuck looked curious, and crouched forward to investigate. unlocking his phone, he got a text message from his mother that dinner is ready, and as if perfectly timed, donghyuck’s stomach growls.

“you’re hungry?” mark asked.

“very.”

mark lifts up donghyuck’s hands and takes them in his, pulling him upwards gently so he stood up. “ i think i can sneak you home, if you let me. my mom makes some killer ham sandwiches.”

“sure!”

and so mark takes him home, which isn’t very far from the beach. but they walk slowly, sparking a conversation almost naturally. they talked about how donghyuck had been watched over by this tall, lanky creepy man while he was in the ocean, and about how much he wanted to leave, and mark listened quietly, observing the other’s face as he talked passionately. 

 

-

 

mark hushed donghyuck as he held his hand to direct him, climbing the fence of his backyard and squatting beneath a bush until the murmuring of his mother faded away. mark looked up to donghyuck and said, “stay right here, okay? i’ll be right back with the food. i think you’ll love it.”

mark walked into his house, leaving the door open a gap so that donghyuck could see inside of it. 

“can i eat in the backyard today? uhm… i want to watch the stars.” donghyuck made out from the muffled voices he heard outside of the house. 

“go ahead, mark. take your time. alright?”

normally, his mother would’ve found it a little strange for a sudden request like that from mark, but with the amount of stress he’s been getting from school, he’s been doing a lot of things on impulse lately as a coping mechanism.

when his mother wasn’t looking he came out with two plates of hot, steaming ham sandwiches with fries on the side, balanced on one arm, while the other, clawing two cups of cold water. he smiled as he walked out carefully, placing the plates down in front of both of them.

donghyuck inhaled the smoky scent of the ham and started to bite into it. as soon as his mouth tasted the ham, his eyes immediately lit up and he closed his eyes, taking in the flavour of something so good, but also of something he’s never tried before.

“mark this is like.. so.. good..” donghyuck said, almost inaudible from how much food was in his mouth.

“i told you! my mom makes killer ham sandwiches.”

the two hungry boys devoured their food almost instantly, and sat on their backs to stare up at the sky.

“thank you, mark.” donghyuck said, staring straight into mark’s eyes, but different from before. his eyes glistened, reflecting the bright stars planted in the sky. 

“it’s no problem, my prince.” he took donghyuck’s hand and kissed the back of his palm gently, looking up to see donghyuck’s face turn into the colour of his hair.

and just like that, they spent the night telling each other stories and giggling into each other’s necks, watching the night sky.

people say the sky is blue because it reflects off of the endless oceans, so maybe, that’s why he turned pink whenever donghyuck talked - as he was a reflection of love.

**Author's Note:**

> hello!! this is the first fic i've ever published, let alone written, so i hope it was at least sub par. i've been wanting to write a markhyuck fic for ageeees, and when i saw a tweet relating them to ponyo (one of my absolute favourite movies... to exist), i knew i had to start writing. go easy on me!


End file.
